NASHVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — Masks, wipes and gloves help keep people safe during the pandemic. But many pieces of personal protection equipment are ending up on the side of the roads, in waterways and littered about the streets.
That's why one local organization is asking everyone to find a cleaner alternative for a face covering.
Staff with Turnip Green Creative Reuseare encouraging more people to use cloth masks that can be reused. The PPE medical professionals encourage us to wear to fight off COVID-19 is now being tossed on the ground.
"It’s always so disheartening and you think if only they had a reusable mask, one they would've helped the community, they wouldn't have littered," said Jennifer Ancevski, "In the back of mind I think maybe that was just an accident but there's way too many on the ground to just be an accident."
Turnip Green Creative Reuse is a shop where artists can turn trash into treasure and garbage into gifts through reusable donations.
All with a mission to keep Nashville sustainable, green and clean.
"So many of these are made out of non-natural materials which end up in the waterways, they are detrimental to our water, animals and their habitat. Either put it in the trash can or get reusable, if possible," said Ancevski.
Ancevski is the operations manager for Turnip Green Creative Reuse.
It's a shop where artists can turn trash into treasure and garbage into gifts through reusable donations.
"They use these donations and they're so creative with it and it’s just an awesome concept altogether,"
And since the pandemic, have been pushing for reusable, washable face coverings.
"One of the first things we have done was ask a lot of our artists to take the material donated, which most of it was fabrics and things of that nature and turn them into reusable mask."
Ancevski says if you can't get a re-usable, washable mask then simply throw the disposal ones in the trash.
